Notice2022-20988
Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program
Primary source
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Published
September 28, 2022
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentPatent and Trademark Office
Abstract
On June 29, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) implemented the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program in support of the White House's National Cancer Moonshot initiative, which sought to accelerate cancer research. The program permits patent applications pertaining to cancer immunotherapy to be advanced out of turn for examination. To date, over 880 petitions requesting participation in the pilot program have been filed, and over 650 patents have been granted under the program. In view of the continued interest in the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, as well as the White House's reignition of the National Cancer Moonshot initiative, the USPTO is extending the program, with all parameters remaining the same, until January 31, 2023. The USPTO will also continue to evaluate whether to expand the scope of the pilot program and to what extent during this extension period.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58772-58773]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20988]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
[Docket No.: PTO-P-2022-0031]
Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program
AGENCY: United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of
Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: On June 29, 2016, the United States Patent and Trademark
Office (USPTO) implemented the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program in
support of the White House's National Cancer Moonshot initiative, which
sought to accelerate cancer research. The program permits patent
applications pertaining to cancer
[[Page 58773]]
immunotherapy to be advanced out of turn for examination. To date, over
880 petitions requesting participation in the pilot program have been
filed, and over 650 patents have been granted under the program. In
view of the continued interest in the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot
Program, as well as the White House's reignition of the National Cancer
Moonshot initiative, the USPTO is extending the program, with all
parameters remaining the same, until January 31, 2023. The USPTO will
also continue to evaluate whether to expand the scope of the pilot
program and to what extent during this extension period.
DATES: Pilot duration: The Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program will
continue to run until January 31, 2023. Therefore, petitions to make
special under the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program must be filed on
or before January 31, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions regarding this pilot
program in general, please contact Susy Tsang-Foster, Senior Legal
Advisor, Office of Patent Legal Administration, Office of the Deputy
Commissioner for Patent Examination Policy, at 571-272-7711 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#582b2d2b21762c2b39363f753e372b2c3d2a182d2b282c37763f372e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f48781878dda8087959a93d9929b87809186b4818784809bda939b82">[email protected]</span></a>. For questions related to a particular
petition, please contact Gary B. Nickol, Supervisory Patent Examiner,
at 571-272-0835 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cfa8aebdb6e1a1a6aca4a0a38fbabcbfbba0e1a8a0b9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="690e081b104707000a020605291c1a191d06470e061f">[email protected]</span></a>; or Brandon J. Fetterolf,
Supervisory Patent Examiner, at 571-272-2919 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#670515060903080949010213130215080b0127121417130849000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7a18081b141e1514541c1f0e0e1f0815161c3a0f090a0e15541d150c">[email protected]</span></a>, both of Technology Center 1600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 29, 2016, the USPTO published a
notice for the implementation of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot
Program. See Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program, 81 FR 42328 (Cancer
Immunotherapy Notice). The pilot program was designed to support the
global fight against cancer. The Cancer Immunotherapy Notice indicated
that an applicant could have an application advanced out of turn
(accorded special status) for examination without meeting all the
current requirements of the accelerated examination program set forth
in item VIII of section 708.02(a) of the Manual of Patent Examining
Procedure (9th ed., rev. 10.2019, June 2020), if the application
contained at least one claim to a method of treating a cancer using
immunotherapy and the applicant met other requirements specified in the
Cancer Immunotherapy Notice.
The Cancer Immunotherapy Notice established that the pilot program
would run for 12 months, beginning on June 29, 2016. Over the course of
the pilot program, the USPTO has extended it four times through notices
published in the Federal Register. The most recent notice extended the
program until September 30, 2022 and requested public comments on
whether to expand the scope of pilot program and whether to extend it.
See Extension of the Cancer Immunotherapy Pilot Program and Request for
Comments, 87 FR 38714 (June 29, 2022) (Extension Notice). The Office
received one written submission containing three comments from a law
firm in response to the request for public comments in the Extension
Notice. The Office appreciates the thoughtful comments. The submission
is posted at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/document/PTO-P-2022-0019-0001/comment">https://www.regulations.gov/document/PTO-P-2022-0019-0001/comment</a>. The USPTO is continuing to evaluate whether to expand the
program and to what extent.
Various stakeholders from around the world--including independent
inventors, universities, research institutions, hospitals, medical
centers, government agencies, and large and small companies--have filed
petitions to participate in the pilot program. To date, over 880
petitions requesting participation have been filed, and over 650
patents have been granted under the pilot program. In view of the
continued interest in the pilot program, the USPTO is hereby extending
it through January 31, 2023. The extension will enable the program to
continue without lapse as the USPTO continues its ongoing evaluation of
whether to expand the program and to what extent. The requirements of
the pilot program will not be modified at this time.
Katherine K. Vidal,
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
[FR Doc. 2022-20988 Filed 9-27-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-16-P
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